State v. Vanhollebeke

412 P.3d 1274, 190 Wash. 2d 315
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 15, 2018
DocketNO. 94054-1
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 412 P.3d 1274 (State v. Vanhollebeke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Vanhollebeke, 412 P.3d 1274, 190 Wash. 2d 315 (Wash. 2018).

Opinion

GORDON McCLOUD, J.

*317 ¶ 1 Justin Vanhollebeke drove his truck the wrong way down a one-way street. Not surprisingly, an officer stopped him. Vanhollebeke ignored the officer's command to stay in the vehicle, got out and locked the vehicle behind him, left a punched out ignition and apparent drug paraphernalia behind in plain view of the police, and had no key. The police asked Vanhollebeke for consent to search the vehicle. Vanhollebeke refused. A police officer then contacted the truck's owner, received the absent owner's consent and a key to search, and then returned to search the vehicle.

¶ 2 Vanhollebeke was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm found in the truck, and he challenged the legality of the vehicle search. The officer lacked a warrant, and the State relies instead on an exception to the warrant requirement: the owner's consent.

¶ 3 We hold that the present driver's refusal to consent to the search of his or her vehicle must generally be respected. But where, as here, circumstances like a punched *1276 out ignition and a driver with no key raise a significant question about whether the driver had any legitimate claim to the vehicle at all, the police may contact the absent owner and then get that owner's consent to search instead.

¶ 4 We therefore affirm the Court of Appeals.

FACTS

¶ 5 Sergeant Aaron Garza of the Othello Police Department observed Vanhollebeke's truck facing the wrong way on a one-way street at an intersection. Clerk's Papers (CP) at 34 (Finding of Fact (FF) 1.1); RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 11-12; (RP) (May 20, 2015) at 310-11. Garza pulled Vanhollebeke over. RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 12; RP (May 20, 2015) at 311. Ignoring repeated commands to remain in his vehicle, Vanhollebeke finally exited from the truck and stated that he had locked himself out and did not have a key. CP at 34 (FF 1.2). Finding this behavior unusual, *318 Garza called for backup. RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 13-15; RP (May 20, 2015) at 314-16. After the other officers arrived, dispatch advised that Vanhollebeke had a suspended license. CP at 35 (FF 1.4); RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 18. 1 Garza began writing a citation for driving while license suspended. RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 22.

¶ 6 One of the other officers, Deputy Darryl Barnes, saw a glass pipe containing a white crystal substance on the truck's dashboard and noticed that the ignition had been punched out. CP at 35 (FF 1.5); RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 103, 106. The officers suspected that the truck might be stolen or contain controlled substances and asked Vanhollebeke for permission to search it. RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 23, 28. Vanhollebeke refused. Id. at 28.

¶ 7 Garza then tried to reach the truck's registered owner, Bill Casteel. CP at 35 (FF 1.6); RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 28-29. Garza couldn't reach Casteel by phone, so Barnes drove to Casteel's home, about 20 miles away, instead. CP at 35 (FF 1.6); RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 30. Garza's police report states that Barnes went to Casteel's home seeking permission to search the vehicle; 2 it does not say anything about ascertaining whether the vehicle was stolen. CP at 20-21; RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 58-59. Barnes testified that when he spoke with Casteel:

I told him that we had the gentleman there on a traffic stop and did he know where his truck was and did he know who had his truck and that what I found-what I saw inside the truck and did he have a problem with me searching it.

RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 109. Casteel said that Vanhollebeke had permission to use the truck, but he also expressed concern about the suspected drug paraphernalia. Id. at *319 109-110. He consented to a search of the truck and gave Barnes a key. Id. ; CP at 35 (FF 1.7). According to Barnes:

[F]rom what I can remember, [Casteel] was in disgust about his truck being stopped by law enforcement and did say that the gentleman had permission to use the truck, was concerned that I found drug-that I saw what appeared to be drug paraphernalia in the truck.
And I asked, "Hey, can we search your truck? If not, the city would impound it and they would search it, but they're willing to just search it on scene. Are you okay with that?"
He's like, "Sure," gave me the key.

RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 109-110. 3 Casteel was sick and declined Barnes's invitation to accompany him back to the scene. Id. at 110.

*1277 ¶ 8 When Barnes arrived back at the truck, he gave Garza the key and told him that Casteel had consented to the search. RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 32. The officers then searched the passenger compartment and discovered a gun under the driver's seat. Id. at 33. The pipe on the dashboard tested positive for methamphetamine, and officers arrested Vanhollebeke for possession of a controlled substance. Id. at 39. Dispatch advised that Vanhollebeke was a convicted felon. Id. at 77-78.

¶ 9 The State charged Vanhollebeke with one count of first degree unlawful possession of a firearm. CP at 3-4; RP (May 19, 2015) at 230-31. Vanhollebeke moved to suppress the fruits of the search, arguing that the warrantless search was unconstitutional. CP at 5-12; RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 150-51. The trial court denied the motion, CP at 37, reasoning that "there's a reduced expectation of privacy in a borrowed *320 vehicle." RP (Jan. 20, 2015) at 153. The trial court made no explicit findings of fact regarding the officers' motivation for contacting Casteel. 4 Vanhollebeke was found guilty, sentenced to 34 months confinement, and assessed fees of $1,380. RP (May 21, 2015) at 482-85; CP at 141-46.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 10 Vanhollebeke appealed on several grounds, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. 5 State v. Vanhollebeke, 197 Wash. App. 66 , 68, 387 P.3d 1103 (2016), review granted, 188 Wash.2d 1001 , 393 P.3d 360 (2017). The only issue before this court is the constitutionality of the search.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
412 P.3d 1274, 190 Wash. 2d 315, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-vanhollebeke-wash-2018.